The moon shines over the Temple of Poseidon in Greece. (Image credit: Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images) Share this article 0 Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter May's full Blue Moon put on a dazzling display over the weekend, flooding the night sky with moonlight as the red supergiant star Antares glowed nearby.
A Blue Moon is the name given to the second full moon in a single calendar month — a rare occurrence that only takes place about once every 2.5 years, because the moon's 29.5-day cycle doesn't neatly align with the calendar. It's also the name given to the third full moon in a single season containing four full moons — though this original meaning doesn't apply for the May 31 lunar event.
The May 2026 Blue Moon was also the smallest full moon of the year — known as a micromoon — having turned full at a distant point in its elliptical orbit of Earth. As a result, it appeared subtly smaller in Earth's sky as it tracked across the sky, but still shone bright enough to throw a veil of moonlight over all but the brightest nearby stars.
Read on to see a selection of gorgeous photos of the May 2026 Blue Moon.
May 2026 Full Blue Moon in photos
Our first shot was captured by photographer Gary Hershorn, who snapped an atmospheric shot of the near-full moon as it took flight between the steel legs of the Eiffel Tower, while soccer fans celebrated the victory of Paris Saint-Germain over Arsenal in the Champions League Final on May 30.
The moon glows alongside the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. (Image credit: Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Lokman Vural captured a gorgeous shot of the lunar disk shining behind the Statue of Liberty around moonrise in New York that same night, as a helicopter appeared to buzz Earth's natural satellite.
The near-full moon floods the night sky with reflected sunlight as a helicopter appears to pass nearby. (Image credit: Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Castas Baltas caught an atmospheric view of the Blue Moon on the night of May 31, as it rose over the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, close to the city of Athens in Greece.
The yellow moon shines behind the pillars of the Temple of Poseidon in Greece. (Image credit: Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
This magnificent view of the moon rising over San Francisco was taken by Tayfun Coskun from the nearby city of Sausalito in California, as moonlight reflected in the waters of the San Francisco Bay.
The moon rises over the San Francisco Bay. (Image credit: Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Coskun lined up another spectacular shot of the moon rising above the Bay Bridge that same night, as the infamous, and now defunct island prison of Alcatraz loomed out of the shadowy waters.
The full moon rises over Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. (Image credit: Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Steve Christo-Corbis, meanwhile, snapped a beautiful evening shot of the yellow full moon one night later on May 31, as it glowed in the peach sky above the Sydney Opera House in Australia's largest city.
A bright yellow moon begins its lazy journey through the night sky above the Sydney Opera House. (Image credit: Photo by Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Photographer Pongmanat Tasiri opted to capture the Blue Moon as it shone silver in the cloudy skies above the city of Chiang Mai in Thailand. Dark lunar maria are visible sprawling across the moon's surface, where lava once rose to the surface before hardening to form enormous basaltic plains.
The Blue Moon brightens the sky over Thailand on May 31. (Image credit: Photo by Pongmanat Tasiri/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Juliane Sonntag spied those same lunar maria darkening the moon's surface as it glowed behind an American flag atop the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on May 31, as the artificial glow of tail lights gleamed below.
The full moon brightens the skies above New York's Brooklyn Bridge. (Image credit: Photo by Juliane Sonntag/Photothek via Getty Images)
The final image was taken by Robert Nemeti, revealing the glow of the full moon shining out from behind a dense band of cloud to illuminate the metallic skeleton of a communication tower in Kechnec, Slovakia.
Earth's satellite hides behind a streak of cloud in the skies over Slovakia. (Image credit: Photo by Robert Nemeti/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The next full moon will occur on June 29, when the full "Strawberry Moon" rises as the first full moon of summer for the Northern Hemisphere! Eager to get a closer look at the lunar disk as the line separating night from day sweeps across its ancient surface in the coming weeks? Then be sure to read our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars for exploring the night sky, along with our guide to observing the moon!
If photography is your thing, then check out our guide to imaging the moon with a camera, along with our picks of the top lenses for astrophotography.
Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to [email protected].
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Anthony WoodSkywatching WriterAnthony Wood joined Space.com in April 2025 after contributing articles to outlets including IGN, New Atlas and Gizmodo. He has a passion for the night sky, science, Hideo Kojima, and human space exploration, and can’t wait for the day when astronauts once again set foot on the moon.
